#FITBIT RELAX APP SOFTWARE#

The dynamic GPS mode uses a combination of the built-in and connected GPS to offer an accuracy boost with less drain on the battery than using the built-in GPS.įor rowing workouts against a heart rate monitor chest strap, the Charge 6 delivered similar average and maximum heart rate readings.įor steady-paced outdoor runs, it was more of the same against a chest strap. If you want to more accurately track outdoor workouts, Fitbit once again offers built-in GPS, but additionally offers a dynamic GPS mode and connected GPS (which is when the tracker uses your smartphone to track location). It has a habit of continuing to track the workout even when you’ve finished though. There’s auto workout tracking here too, and it works fine for activities like walking and running. Many of those activities focus on tracking time spent in heart rate zones, capturing Fitbit’s heart rate-fuelled Active Zone Minutes, and showing how that activity impacts on your day. On the sports tracking front, there are 40 exercise modes available, including the likes of HIIT, rowing, strength training, and pool swimming. It feels like an odd omission once again on Fitbit’s premium fitness tracker and I'd happily take it over the messy GPS support, which I'll get into later.ĭaily step counts were nicely in line with Garmin’s tracking, which I’ve found to offer pretty reliable step tracking on its watches. That means you can’t track elevation, like climbing stairs. It’ll track your steps, hourly activity, and distance covered during the day, but annoyingly lacks an altimeter. This is a better tracker to do things like count steps, nudge when you haven't moved for a while, and less so for tracking outdoor workouts and dishing out lots of big sports metrics. Pretty much everything you could do on the Charge 5 from a fitness and sports tracking point of view remains intact on the Charge 6, bar a few extras. It’s well presented, runs smoothly, and makes interacting with the Charge 6 throughout the day largely a nice experience.

#FITBIT RELAX APP SOFTWARE#

The software experience on and off the tracker is good on the whole. The YouTube Music controls feel less useful because let’s be honest, how many people are using YouTube Music? Opening this up to other players would have been far more useful. It's easy to use, once you link it through the Fitbit app, and you make sure the tracker is paired to the phone app before you start mapping out and following a journey. I found the Google Maps integration the most useful of the three big Google additions. That means added contactless payment, mapping, and some music control features. What you do now get is Google Wallet, Google Maps and YouTube Music controls pre-loaded. There are no apps, SOS safety features, the ability to make calls over Bluetooth, or access to a smart assistant. Unsurprisingly, it’s not giving you everything the Pixel Watch, Sense, or Versa are capable of.

For the Charge 6, there’s definitely a lot more going on the smartwatch features front. On the Charge 5, it essentially offered a place to view your phone notifications and also use it as a way to track down your paired smartphone. It’s clear that bolstering the Charge’s ability to be more useful when you’re not checking your heart rate or stress has been a priority for Fitbit with the Charge 6. The new Xiaomi Mi Band 8 is considerably cheaper but does offer features like an AMOLED display, a collection of tracker bands, and versatile wearing options. There’s not a lot of fitness trackers that sit at around the price of the Charge 6. That’s also $60/£50 more than what you’ll pay for the (2 year old) Fitbit Luxe and the excellent Fitbit Inspire 3.

The Charge 6 costs $160/£139.99, so that’s slightly more expensive than the Charge 5 ($150/$160), which is still on sale even on Fitbit's website. Is there still life in the Charge and does the Charge 6 make big improvements on the Charge 5? Here’s our take. It paints a positive future, at least short term, for Fitbit’s flagship fitness tracker, even with the Pixel Watch on the scene. The Charge 6 marks another step in Google’s growing software presence among Fitbit’s wearable family, with apps for Maps and Google Wallet.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 is now a Fitbit smartwatch in all but name, but the Charge 6 feels like Google's first fitness tracker, even it it retains the iconic Fitbit branding. The Fitbit Charge 6 is a fitness, health, and sports tracker all in one that now also wants to behave more like a smartwatch.

Fitbit relax app